1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an interactive sports training device. More particularly, this invention relates to a portable sports training device for training of hockey players and other athletes engaged in sports involving a ball, or the like, with or without a racket, or the like, and requiring accurate maneuvering, positioning, passing and shooting of the ball, or the like, including, for example, lacrosse, tennis and soccer.
2. State of the Art
For illustrative purposes only, and without limiting the applicability of the invention to other sports, reference will be made to ice hockey in explaining the invention and its advantages. This invention, however, can be applied, and can be of benefit, to any athlete who participates in any other sport involving a ball, or the like, with or without a racket, or the like, and requiring hand-eye coordination, accurate maneuvering, positioning, passing and shooting of a ball, or the like. Therefore, similar applications can be realized in many other sports, including, but not limited to, lacrosse, tennis, soccer, baseball and basketball.
Ice hockey is a sport popular in many countries around the world, including Canada, USA, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, and Germany. In Canada, where the sport was invented, it is common for players as young as three years old to begin practicing their skills.
Most competitive young players are on the ice an average of 5 hours or more per week practicing and playing. At elite levels, young players will practice two to three hours each day with at least 50% of their practice time devoted to the art of stick handling, shooting and passing.
Currently, very little competitive, individual stick handling practice is accomplished outside of the scrimmage and game situations, either on or off the ice: (i) on-ice practice—during on-ice practice, players may spend time moving the puck along and around predetermined routes usually marked by small orange cones along the ice; and (ii) off-ice practice—players will spend many hours practicing stick handling, passing and shooting in their homes, schools, parking lots, and streets using various objects such as tennis balls and rubber balls.
On-ice practice is limited by the cost of renting ice time, which is expensive and continues to climb. As a result, many players practice off-ice, either by themselves or in groups.
Currently, there are only two off-ice practice methods to simulate a real game environment. First, players practice together and invent competitive games against each other wherein each player tries to take the puck from the opposing player(s). Second, players play actual games against each other (with or without keeping score), commonly referred to as ball hockey or street hockey.
There are many difficulties to either of these methods. For example, it is often hard to find additional players of the same skill level to practice with. When one player's skills are superior to those with whom he is playing, he gets less of a ‘real’ practice because his skills are not challenged. Also, space constraints may severely limit players' abilities to practice their games.
On the other hand, when a player practices alone, whether on of off the ice, the player is denied the element of anticipation, unpredictability and spontaneity that is integral to developing a high level of proficiency at playing the sport. In other words, when a player practices by himself he always knows in advance precisely what his next move is going to be because he has to decide what to do and where and how to move the ball or puck. The level of challenge available in a multi-player game is simply not present when one practices alone.
On their own, players practice moving the ball from side to side as fast as they can. They can also practice passing the ball to imaginary spots as well as shooting the ball against imaginary targets, or, sometimes, into goal nets. As already noted, while engaging in any of these practices the player always knows what and where his next move is going to be. He knows in advance what he is going to do next, whether that is during stick handling, passing or shooting practice. Additionally, other than striving to complete a practice drill in a shorter time, a player has little or no competitive pressure on him while practicing on his own. While time for completion is a factor in a player's overall skill set, it is only one aspect of his proficiency. What is more important, however, is a player's ability to respond quickly and accurately to other players' unanticipated and unknown next moves—this skill, however, simply cannot be practiced or honed in individual practice. As such, a player has no accurate way to measure his performance and improvement while performing such drills.
In short, there currently is no way to practice stick handling, passing or shooting in a truly ‘blind’, responsive and inter-active manner; the person training always knows what he is going to do before he does it. In other words, there is no training routine that is capable of providing combined improvement of maneuverability, foot speed, hand-eye co-ordination, reaction time and, overall, the skills required for effective stick handling, passing and shooting in a ‘real’ game of hockey.
Based on the perceived need for a training device that simulates the anticipation, responsiveness and unpredictability of a multi-player game, and that improves a player's hand-eye coordination, stick handling, passing and shooting ability in an environment that closely approximates a multi-player hockey game, the training device disclosed herein was developed by the applicant.
This portable, compact and affordable invention also allows a player to practice any time and anywhere he chooses under conditions that simulate a ‘real’ competitive environment (otherwise only available with other players). Obtaining the same level and type of practice on one's own as was traditionally available only through multi-player activities was not possible, until now.